Luke 5:39

THE EXCELLENCE OF THE LITURGY

‘No man having drunk old wine desireth new; for he saith, The old is better.’

Luke 5:39

The excellency of the Liturgy of the Church of England! This is proved by using it. No man having drunk of this wine desireth new; experience has taught him what argument might have failed in doing, that the old is better. Solvitur ambulando. The excellency of the Liturgy of the Church of England is assumed from:—

I. The point of view of scripturalness and Scripture truth.—Above two-thirds of the daily service of the Church consists of extracts from Scripture. You may find fault with the minister and object to his preaching, but no minister can rob you of a service in which the Bible takes the chief place. The Psalter is read through twelve times a year; the bulk of the Old Testament once; the New Testament (save for three Chapter s) twice. Each Sunday and holy-day has a special Epistle and Gospel. On Ash Wednesday we have an exhortation which is practically in the very words of Scripture. Not only so, but this normal arrangement is ruthlessly set aside when the fluctuations of the ecclesiastical year demand that our attention should be fixed on what Prebendary Sadler called ‘the Scripture Gospel.’ Compare this form of worship with what obtains in many a Nonconformist chapel, where, both in reading and in preaching, the officiating minister follows his own will and fancy.

II. The point of view of what may be called balance.—‘I thank God,’ said one who had just experienced a wonderful outpouring of the Holy Spirit, ‘that I was brought up in the Church of England.’ We live in an age of revivals, of zeal and enthusiasm. Let us be grateful for it. But zeal and enthusiasm are apt to become one-sided and intolerant. It needed the well-balanced mind of an Erasmus to see the dangers which were hidden from the eyes of a Luther. There was a time for Luther and there was a time for Erasmus. There are men who have joined the Church of England because only in her could they find freedom, within reasonable limits, for that unfettered consideration of theological difficulties which is so necessary in these days of searching investigation, the result of that freedom being frequently (thank God!) a hearty acquiescence in those views which are looked upon as orthodox, instead of being driven by the extreme dogmas of a sect into heresy of opinion and misery of soul.

III. The point of view of fitness and good taste.—We live in a critical age. We live in a religious age. The religious and critical spirit are continually at variance, and (to some extent) act and react on each other. Earnestness may compel our admiration, but good taste refuses to be outraged even for the sake of earnestness, be it ever so earnest. The fierce light of criticism, the almost unreasonable requirements of good taste, the innate conviction of what ought to constitute the fitness of things, is silent in the case of our Liturgy. Criticism may discuss the ritual which obtains; good taste may have its say with regard to the reading and the music which are customary; but the words themselves of the Prayer Book retain to the full to-day, as much as when John Keble in 1827 wrote his charming preface to The Christian Year, their ‘soothing tendency.’ The Collect for the day will touch many a heart where extempore prayer would but cause a cavil; the Te Deum will be the song of praise to many who, like Charles Kingsley, are sorely exercised by most of our modern hymns; and the secret agnostic will stand reverently at the open grave and be comforted by the most touching of our occasional services.

IV. The point of view of spiritual growth.—As we advance in the spiritual life, as we draw nearer to the presence of God, we have no need to borrow phrases which seem to stamp us as of some school of thought of yesterday; the third Collect at Morning Prayer (to take but one out of the full sum of Anglican devotion) will satisfy the aspirations of St. Paul when caught up to the third heaven; it will indicate a line of practical Christian perfectionism which can never be surpassed on this side of eternity.

We have in our possession a spiritual treasure. Do we use it, do we enjoy it?

(a) Unless our Liturgy is used it is but a poor possession. The fervent Dissenter whose heart follows the petitions uttered by his minister has a more valuable possession than those who hear the Liturgy but take no part therein. Learn, then, to appreciate the Prayer Book by using it. If we do not use our Prayer Books we shall starve in the midst of plenty; let us see to it that we show our appreciation of our treasury of devotion by our acquaintance with its many priceless gems.

(b) Lastly, let us nourish our spiritual life by the Liturgy of the Church of England. Where ought we to find more perfect Christians than in the members of the Anglican communion? They ‘have all and abound,’ as regards prayer and praise and Scripture-reading. But the Prayer Book, like the Bible, needs a key with which to unlock its treasures. That key is Jesus Christ. Those who know Christ, those who are following Christ, those who have put on Christ, will learn more and more of Christ in the Liturgy as their spiritual life deepens and widens with experience and prayer.

—Rev. E. J. Sturdee.

Illustration

‘In 1875 a Convention was held at Brighton to emphasise a comparatively new development of spiritual life in the direction of what was called “sanctification by faith alone.” Much interest was aroused in the movement. Much discussion took place all over the country in connection with it. Among those who visited the Convention was one whose books and teaching have long been cherished by thousands who only knew her by name, when they heard that Mrs. Rundle Charles was the authoress of The Schönberg Cotta Family. Mrs. Charles went to the Convention, and embodied her experiences in an article sent to a religious paper, and afterwards reproduced in one of her most charming books, The Bertram Family. And this was the gist of her remarks, that all she had heard at Brighton was virtually contained in the Liturgy, and though true was in no sense new.’